Putting something in italics to make it look like it has some authority doesn't actually give it any authority. It doesn't help that you're quoting a random reddit user. The distinction pointed out in the quote also sounds more like it's about the financial arrangement than whether or not they're looking for feedback.
Now, from the Early Access FAQ in these forums: (
https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=677277)
Why are we doing Early Access?
We’ve learned that working directly with our players during development makes our games better. RPGs this large, with so many permutations, thrive from feedback as new features and fixes are incrementally added to the game. Early Access gives players a chance to participate in development and it gives us an opportunity to explore different game ideas with a live community. We want to learn how you play the game and use that to make it a better experience for everyone.
Between that and the fact that we're having this discussion in the "Suggestions & Feedback" forum that they created, it sure seems like they want our feedback. The distinction between Beta and Early Access is both irrelevant to whether we are giving feedback and not particularly germane to the statement of mine that you were responding to, which is about how we get our information and what assumptions we can make.
I don't think it is as much of a game breaking issue to most people as it is to you. Also, that was a google definition I searched, but you can argue semantics all you want, there is a difference between beta testing and early access. As for their statement, I would pay attention to "We want to learn how you play the game and use that to make it a better experience for everyone" which basically means they are pulling play data from our sessions to make the game better. Maybe they will change day/night, maybe they won't but I think to most players it is just an accessory. I have looked up a number of YT videos, reviews, discussions and among the most talked about issues, I don't see it that often. Not discounting the importance it is for you, just when you commonly state that it is an issue for A LOT of people, like it is game breaking or something. Considering that in all their games, they have never had a day/night cycle, my guess is that it isn't happening, but if it does than cool.
Honestly, if you want a true idea of what the majority of players want/don't want/don't care would be to just include a survey in the launcher. You are more likely to get the accurate issues and their importance that way, rather than open forums since a majority of people don't use the forums.
First, again, I would appreciate it if you stopped putting words in my mouth; you are burning strawmen. At no point do I say this is "an issue for A LOT of people" or that it is "game breaking" or anything like those statements or even that it's necessary to have a day/night cycle. I am very careful to make statements only about what I think or want because it would be complete nonsense for me to make claims about what other people think or want without evidence to back it up.
Second, the quote of mine that you are responding to has nothing to do with the day/night cycle. I'm complaining that people are regularly pulling unreliable information about Larian's intentions from random interviews and suggesting that we should not base our feedback on information that isn't presented to us within the scope of our playtesting. This, admittedly, has gone off the topic of this thread, but was based on comments in this thread. I intended to let it lie there, but you then quoted it for some reason and then talked about something else.
Thirdly, I am not looking for "a true idea of what the majority of players want". Design by committee leads to bad choices and systems that don't work together. What I am doing is stating the kinds of things that I would like to see in this game (in this case, verisimilitude and more diverse ways for characters to interact with the world) and then trying to present a combination of reasons why those might be compelling and examples of what that might look like. This is how playtesting works. You can call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is they have asked for feedback and I am providing it.
I'm happy to keep talking about day/night cycle stuff, but this particular discussion is unproductive and I will no longer be participating in it.
